Olympics, pandemic and politics: There's no separating them

Consider:— The Japanese medical community largely opposes these Olympics; the government’s main medical adviser, Dr. Shigeru Omi, has said it’s “abnormal” to hold them during a pandemic.— Medical journals The Lancet and The New England Journal of Medicine have raised questions about the risks, with the former criticizing the World Health Organization for not taking a clear stand and the latter saying the IOC’s decision to proceed “is not informed by the best scientific evidence.”— The second-largest selling newspaper in Japan, the Asahi Shimbun, has called for the Olympics to be canceled. Politicians may well be aware of the risk they are taking but hope that once the games begin the Japanese public will persevere ‘for the good of Japan’ and forget how we got there.”___JOHN HORNE, sociologist, Waseda University, co-author with Garry Whannel of “Understanding the Olympics”:“The IOC is an elitist club that garners support from other elites and people — and countries — that aspire to joining the elite. From a sports perspective, the IOC represents the custodian of the exclusive medals that athletes in numerous sports aspire to, acts as the chief promoter of the mythology of the healing power of sport, and the organization that most international sports federations and national Olympic committees are reliant on for funding.”___GILL STEEL, political scientist, Doshisha University:“Politically, the opposition is so weak, the government can do pretty much anything it wants.